MRCS scales up hygiene in Lilongwe rural

Malawi Red Cross Society (MRCS) has scaled up hygiene standards in Traditional Authority (T/A) Nkhongoni in Lilongwe Rural, through Community Action Groups (CAG) under Moyo ndi Mpamba project which wants every household to have a latrine.

James Bwalidzo, who is also Group Village Head (GVH) Chirombo, confessed to Malawi News Agency (Mana) that he had stayed without a latrine for 14 years until CAG was launched.

He said his family was using a grave yard when they wanted to relieve themselves.

“I felt it a waste of time and energy to dig a pit latrine, but saw it easy and convenient to visit any near-by bush. I was also partly taking advantage of my position as GVH,” he said.

Bwalidzo, however, said it was sometimes difficult to go to the grave-yard or the bush at night and would resort to relieving at some places close to the house.

“It was not easy to rush to the grave-yard because one had to look around and if someone was looking, we could wait until that person went away because, by tradition, it is not allowed to visit the graveyard without permission.

“Now that I have a toilet, I have seen the goodness of having it, because I have  peace of mind and I am not afraid of catching diseases such as diarrhoea,” he said.

Moyo ndi Mpamba is a three-year project piloted by the Malawi Red Cross Society (MRCS). It started in 2013. n